With the increasing amount of electronics in your home, especially the cooling and heating for a home, your energy bill is also on an increasing trend. Thrift families spare no effort in figuring out ways to cut the cost on electricity and fuel. Fortunately, there are several strategies that can be applied in saving money on energy—although some of them are pretty simple while the rest needs more involvement. Try to employ some of our tips and give your wallet a break.

1. Turn appliances off when not in use.

If a device or appliance is not being used, please turn it off. Turn off the light in the room you are leaving. Turn your computer or laptop down or to sleep mode when not in use. If you are not watching your television, switch it off or even unplug it. Please remember if it is driven by a remote control, it can still eats your electricity when it’s off.

2. Change to CFLs.

When you have broken light bulbs, don’t replace them with traditional ones and opt in for the compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). These new bulbs seem to be more expensive at the time of purchasing, but they are money saver due to higher efficiency in the long term.

3. Purchase Energy Star products.

When you are shopping for home appliances or other devices, keep an eye on products with Energy Star ratings. The Energy Star label means this product meets the energy efficiency standards from US Department of Energy.

4. Install a thermostat that is programmable.

It is the time to change your old thermostat to a programmable one, which gives you more accurate control of the temperatures. It also allows you to set different temperatures during various time periods of a day. For example, if you people are not in the room or during night time that everyone is asleep, the thermostat can help move the temperature to a setting that consumes less energy. It may take you a small investment like $45, but it quickly pay off for the outstanding functions.

5. Clean the coils of your refrigerator.

The refrigerator cools its interior part with a number of coils and these coils will be caked in dust and results in their insulation and consumption of more energy. You can clean the dust off and make your appliance become more efficient.

6. Insulate your home properly.

Homes that are not well insulated consumes more energy than the better sealed ones. To avoid energy wasting, you should apply weather stripping or caulk holes to save some bucks on the heating and cooling bills.

7. Use less air conditioner.

During summer time, you may want to keep the air conditioner on forever, but actually you can turn it off and use fans instead. Fans are energy intensive and draws less electricity.

8. Turn to low-flow showerhead.

The cost during shower is also an important part of your energy bill. Try to change your showerhead to low-flow ones that expel less water and hence less water needs to be heated.